TripAdvisor Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

TripAdvisor NASDAQ: TRIP reported first-quarter 2026 results that were in line with revenue expectations and ahead of adjusted EBITDA expectations, but management said geopolitical and destination-specific disruptions weighed on booking trends late in the quarter.

President and CEO Matt Goldberg said the company remains focused on its strategic shift toward becoming “the world’s largest experiences marketplace,” while also positioning its data and brands for changes in travel discovery driven by artificial intelligence. Chief Financial Officer Mike Noonan said consolidated revenue declined 4% year over year to $382 million, while consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $22 million, or 6% of revenue.

“We delivered this result despite the challenging macro backdrop that intensified late in the quarter,” Goldberg said.

Experiences Growth Slowed After Strong Start

TripAdvisor’s experiences segment began the quarter with strong momentum before disruptions in late February and March affected demand. Goldberg said gross booking value growth in experiences accelerated from 16% in the prior quarter to 19% in January and February. Viator, the company’s largest point of sale in the segment, was stronger, with bookings and GBV growing more than 20% during the first two months of the quarter.

That momentum was interrupted by geopolitical events in the Middle East and acute disruptions in Mexico and Hawaii, including civil unrest and severe flooding, according to management. Noonan said these events led to a spike in cancellations and weaker forward bookings in key leisure markets.

For the full quarter, experiences booked grew 11%, just below the company’s low-teens expectation. Noonan estimated the macro events created about a three-point headwind to bookings growth and about a four-point headwind to experiences revenue growth. Experiences GBV rose 13% to approximately $1.2 billion, with currency contributing an estimated five-point tailwind.

Experiences revenue grew 8%, or 4% in constant currency, slightly below expectations. Revenue growth was approximately 15% in January and February before moderating to roughly flat in March. The segment reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $19 million, equal to negative 11% of revenue, which Noonan said was in line with expectations and reflected typical seasonality.

Goldberg said the company is seeing early benefits from changes made last year, including closer coordination between Viator and TripAdvisor marketing teams, higher conversion on the TripAdvisor point of sale and more strategic supply additions. He said conversion on the TripAdvisor point of sale has grown more than 20% over the last two quarters.

He also highlighted AI-assisted operator sign-up, which he said has more than doubled sign-up conversion, and noted that where TripAdvisor has added strategic supply, more than half of bookings came from new customers.

TheFork Outperforms, Strategic Review Continues

TheFork, TripAdvisor’s restaurant reservation marketplace, posted first-quarter revenue of $57 million, up 23%, or 11% in constant currency. Noonan said total B2C channel bookings grew 6%, while B2B revenue grew more than 50%, including about 12 points of currency tailwind.

TheFork’s adjusted EBITDA was $5 million, or about 8% of revenue, representing margin expansion of more than 15 percentage points. Noonan attributed the improvement to lower marketing and fixed costs, as well as the timing shift of some marketing costs from the first quarter into the second quarter.

Goldberg said the company continues to make progress in its review of strategic alternatives for TheFork. While there was no definitive announcement, he said the process has reinforced management’s view that TheFork is “a highly attractive asset” whose value may not be fully reflected in TripAdvisor’s current portfolio.

In response to an analyst question, Goldberg said TripAdvisor does not need to own TheFork to execute its experiences-focused strategy and could maintain a commercial relationship. If a transaction generated proceeds, he said the company would have flexibility to consider capital returns, debt reduction or further investment in experiences, including organic or inorganic opportunities.

Hotels and Other Remains Profitable but Challenged

The Hotels and Other segment generated first-quarter revenue of $158 million, down 20% year over year. Noonan said performance was better than expected due to strong pricing in paid channels within the hotel metasearch offering, though that was offset by continued volume headwinds.

Media advertising revenue declined 9% to $28 million, showing sequential improvement due to growth in off-platform revenue. Hotels and Other adjusted EBITDA was $37 million, or 23% of revenue.

Goldberg said TripAdvisor is managing the legacy hotels business for contribution profit as it shifts away from being a subscale metasearch player and toward a leading experiences marketplace. He said total fixed costs in the segment declined approximately 14% year over year, while personnel costs declined 18%.

AI Strategy Centers on Data and Travel Intent

Management repeatedly emphasized TripAdvisor’s AI strategy, pointing to the company’s data assets, including 1 billion reviews, photos, points of interest and other travel contributions. Goldberg said the company is working with major AI platforms including OpenAI, Perplexity, Microsoft, Amazon and Anthropic. He said TripAdvisor and Viator apps recently launched within Claude.

Goldberg said traffic from AI sources remains small but is converting at among the highest rates of any channel in the company’s portfolio. He attributed that to the high-intent nature of conversational search and said TripAdvisor sees an opportunity to connect AI-driven travel planning with booking.

“Wherever AI-led travel discovery ultimately lands, we believe the data layer that provides trust, relevance, and confidence to transact will define the winners,” Goldberg said.

The company is also using AI internally. Goldberg said AI-enabled workflows are being embedded across research and development, and cited a recent AI-native pilot that produced a five- to seven-times increase in average engineering output.

Outlook Reflects Recovery Assumptions and Macro Uncertainty

Noonan said April cancellation rates improved after spiking in March, while booking demand began to recover toward the end of the month. The company expects bookings and GBV to continue recovering through the second quarter and reach normalized levels as the quarter ends, though revenue growth is expected to lag due to booking-to-travel timing.

For the second quarter, TripAdvisor expects consolidated revenue to decline by mid-single digits. Segment expectations include:

• Experiences bookings growth of approximately 5% to 8% and revenue growth of approximately 2% to 5%.
• TheFork revenue growth of approximately 10% to 13%, including about 400 basis points of currency benefit.
• Hotels and Other revenue declines of approximately 21% to 24%.
• Consolidated adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 15% to 17%.

For the full year, Noonan said TripAdvisor adjusted its outlook to reflect the expected first-half impact of macro events but left the second half unchanged due to uncertainty. That update implies approximately flat consolidated revenue growth and approximately flat adjusted EBITDA margin for 2026.

Goldberg said travel consumers have historically been resilient, though he acknowledged uncertainty around geopolitical developments, energy prices, inflation, unemployment and consumer confidence. He said TripAdvisor has seen some demand shift toward domestic and intra-regional trips, with shorter booking windows and slightly shorter stays.

“Travel always bounces back,” Goldberg said. “The question is when and how.”

About TripAdvisor NASDAQ: TRIP

TripAdvisor NASDAQ: TRIP is a leading online travel company that operates a digital platform for travel information, reviews and booking services. The company's flagship website and mobile apps allow users to access and contribute travel-related content—ranging from hotel and restaurant reviews to ratings for tours, attractions and vacation rentals—helping consumers plan and book trips around the world.

The core of TripAdvisor's offering is its community-driven review system, which aggregates user-generated feedback alongside editorial content and professional photography.

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